It was my first day at the GMAC Center and I was sitting with my eyes fixed on the wall infront. With GMAC projects running live all over the world, it wasn't surprising to see a number of clocks hung on the wall. They had some familiar tags to them; U.K, U.S.A., Brazil, Paris, Melbourne, Belgium and China along with a few others I might be missing out on. India was below, hung in an elevation of its own.
For the next few days, I constantly gazed at the clocks on the wall and found myself immersed in thoughts of friends and family spread all across the globe. Whenever I'd write to someone, I'd quickly catch a glimpse of their local time and imagine one preparing breakfast while another would be napping in the early hours of the morning. It truly is a global feeling, to have the world time spread out infront of you. Not so long ago, I was a hapless maniac caught between two worlds while I was preparing for the G.R.E. It was difficult to imagine leaving my nation, studying abroad and perhaps even examining the work culture abroad. I'm not a nationalist, I am merely a patriot. My writings would more or less tend to Western caricature and sound pretty similar in flow. With the ongoing recession, I was left with not many options either. A sound academic degree would not ensure a job, unless you were lucky. So, I took to thoughtful ways and decided to study for the examination. Moments of angst, unnecessary anxiety and heartbreak followed until I finally gave up. G.R.E dates were long gone, once I decided to wait until I found work with a software company in the vicinity of home.
Little did I know of this beautiful experience that'd follow at work. The more I glance at the wall, the more I am filled with feelings of patriotism. While I'm at lunch, having been productive the whole morning- my peers in the West would be sipping away at morning tea and bacon. It's a terrific feeling to be ahead of the world. Ofcourse, China is a little ahead of all the countries that are represented on the wall. The West, to the world represents all that is progressive, in tune with the changing times.
Since my early schooldays, I was introduced to a great deal of Indian History for I was on the School Quiz Team and doing pretty well at India Quizzes. A greater part of my school life was spent traveling to inter-school quizzes that were held all over the country. Hailing from an institution that has seen India get to where it stands today and been a part of its success stories, it was essential for me to have a grasp on subjects that would represent me as a true ambassador of my school. Everytime I would spot something with the letters India on it containing substantial amount of information inside, my eyes would brighten up. Indian History amazes me. It's not entirely because we stand at the confluence of many cultures. Most of our history owes to our faulty regimentation, gullible tricks and disorganised warfare. Deeds of valour, bravery and persistence form the crux of our stories we still narrate to children. Amar Chitra Katha volumes still arrive published in many average households in India and bear testimony to the fact that Akbar, Birbal and Chanakya hold more importance in our history than architectural and archaic manuscriptorial evidence that would merely place our history with extra pride on the world map at par with others.
I am reminded of Barack Obama's statement when he openly opposed to outsourcing partners India and China which are two nations that are developing at a fastidious rate, very little affected by the Global Recession. Few days ago, I was reading Thomas Friedman’s bestselling book, “The World is Flat” where I came across the famous statement made by Nandan Nilekani which has also been accepted by Infosys as their business mantra these days. He spoke of how the world is flattening, due to the sharing of manpower and resources due to a phenomenon called Outsourcing, all thanks to the Internet. The whole world is now accessible to us at the touch of a mouse button or the press of a key. With every sector seeking to computerized methods and means, it’s only a matter of time when mechanical activities conducted by the common man will be set through a timer and most of his work can be done while he’s fast asleep.
Globalization of the economy has been a tremendous success in the last decade. With the emergence of multinational companies in India, we’ve opened doors to some of the world’s finest technologies available and created jobs for millions of people who would have otherwise struggled to keep up with the changing times. A few might complain of the excessive burden thrust upon our shoulders while we’re paid very little as compared to our western counterparts. Many also indicate that we’ve been unable to rid ourselves of the slave mentality which has prevailed since the British Raj, bowing to the West at their demands. “Beggars cannot be choosers”, added another acquaintance when I suggested something bold right at the start of my professional career, earlier this year in January. Like in every Bollywood movie, where a song and dance sequence is incomplete without its supporting crew, we play an indispensible part in the Global IT industry also. We’re the backbone of every services-based organization in the world today, providing cost-effective solutions to technological problems that arise in domains ranging from healthcare to warfare. Most of the world’s design is done in technologically superior nations, while we’re engaged in production. As a result of which we’ve been able to employ a wider population into IT-enabled services. The BPO culture is fast growing amongst the youth. Unlike earlier, when an ordinary graduate had to look to alternate ways to sustain him, the BPO industry has opened a wide range of options for the modern youth that wants to be financially independent. Visit a call center in the metro and you’ll not be surprised to see tens and hundreds of school pass-outs and college going students lined up clung on to their microphones doing monotonous rounds of “Hello Sir, how may I help you?” We’re indeed helping the world.
This metamorphosis of turning into a developing nation from a poor under-developed country has not occurred in weeks or months. It’s been a much awaited recovery from our past which if we were to look back at, we clearly observe a struggling nation waiting to unleash its potential in every form. Although I continue to prophesize the existence of a nation far beyond reality, I am sure there is more hope to it than realistic disposition.
The sun still rises ahead.
For the next few days, I constantly gazed at the clocks on the wall and found myself immersed in thoughts of friends and family spread all across the globe. Whenever I'd write to someone, I'd quickly catch a glimpse of their local time and imagine one preparing breakfast while another would be napping in the early hours of the morning. It truly is a global feeling, to have the world time spread out infront of you. Not so long ago, I was a hapless maniac caught between two worlds while I was preparing for the G.R.E. It was difficult to imagine leaving my nation, studying abroad and perhaps even examining the work culture abroad. I'm not a nationalist, I am merely a patriot. My writings would more or less tend to Western caricature and sound pretty similar in flow. With the ongoing recession, I was left with not many options either. A sound academic degree would not ensure a job, unless you were lucky. So, I took to thoughtful ways and decided to study for the examination. Moments of angst, unnecessary anxiety and heartbreak followed until I finally gave up. G.R.E dates were long gone, once I decided to wait until I found work with a software company in the vicinity of home.
Little did I know of this beautiful experience that'd follow at work. The more I glance at the wall, the more I am filled with feelings of patriotism. While I'm at lunch, having been productive the whole morning- my peers in the West would be sipping away at morning tea and bacon. It's a terrific feeling to be ahead of the world. Ofcourse, China is a little ahead of all the countries that are represented on the wall. The West, to the world represents all that is progressive, in tune with the changing times.
Since my early schooldays, I was introduced to a great deal of Indian History for I was on the School Quiz Team and doing pretty well at India Quizzes. A greater part of my school life was spent traveling to inter-school quizzes that were held all over the country. Hailing from an institution that has seen India get to where it stands today and been a part of its success stories, it was essential for me to have a grasp on subjects that would represent me as a true ambassador of my school. Everytime I would spot something with the letters India on it containing substantial amount of information inside, my eyes would brighten up. Indian History amazes me. It's not entirely because we stand at the confluence of many cultures. Most of our history owes to our faulty regimentation, gullible tricks and disorganised warfare. Deeds of valour, bravery and persistence form the crux of our stories we still narrate to children. Amar Chitra Katha volumes still arrive published in many average households in India and bear testimony to the fact that Akbar, Birbal and Chanakya hold more importance in our history than architectural and archaic manuscriptorial evidence that would merely place our history with extra pride on the world map at par with others.
I am reminded of Barack Obama's statement when he openly opposed to outsourcing partners India and China which are two nations that are developing at a fastidious rate, very little affected by the Global Recession. Few days ago, I was reading Thomas Friedman’s bestselling book, “The World is Flat” where I came across the famous statement made by Nandan Nilekani which has also been accepted by Infosys as their business mantra these days. He spoke of how the world is flattening, due to the sharing of manpower and resources due to a phenomenon called Outsourcing, all thanks to the Internet. The whole world is now accessible to us at the touch of a mouse button or the press of a key. With every sector seeking to computerized methods and means, it’s only a matter of time when mechanical activities conducted by the common man will be set through a timer and most of his work can be done while he’s fast asleep.
Globalization of the economy has been a tremendous success in the last decade. With the emergence of multinational companies in India, we’ve opened doors to some of the world’s finest technologies available and created jobs for millions of people who would have otherwise struggled to keep up with the changing times. A few might complain of the excessive burden thrust upon our shoulders while we’re paid very little as compared to our western counterparts. Many also indicate that we’ve been unable to rid ourselves of the slave mentality which has prevailed since the British Raj, bowing to the West at their demands. “Beggars cannot be choosers”, added another acquaintance when I suggested something bold right at the start of my professional career, earlier this year in January. Like in every Bollywood movie, where a song and dance sequence is incomplete without its supporting crew, we play an indispensible part in the Global IT industry also. We’re the backbone of every services-based organization in the world today, providing cost-effective solutions to technological problems that arise in domains ranging from healthcare to warfare. Most of the world’s design is done in technologically superior nations, while we’re engaged in production. As a result of which we’ve been able to employ a wider population into IT-enabled services. The BPO culture is fast growing amongst the youth. Unlike earlier, when an ordinary graduate had to look to alternate ways to sustain him, the BPO industry has opened a wide range of options for the modern youth that wants to be financially independent. Visit a call center in the metro and you’ll not be surprised to see tens and hundreds of school pass-outs and college going students lined up clung on to their microphones doing monotonous rounds of “Hello Sir, how may I help you?” We’re indeed helping the world.
This metamorphosis of turning into a developing nation from a poor under-developed country has not occurred in weeks or months. It’s been a much awaited recovery from our past which if we were to look back at, we clearly observe a struggling nation waiting to unleash its potential in every form. Although I continue to prophesize the existence of a nation far beyond reality, I am sure there is more hope to it than realistic disposition.
The sun still rises ahead.
Comments